WAYNE, N.J. (AUGUST 11, 2009) – William Paterson University will welcome the addition of men's golf to its NCAA Division III intercollegiate athletics program when the Pioneers begin competitive play in the spring of 2011.

The Pioneers, who last sponsored a men's golf team in 1989, currently offer 12 Division III programs: five men's (baseball, basketball, football, soccer, and swimming & diving) and seven women's (basketball, field hockey, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, volleyball, and tennis). The addition of golf will give William Paterson six men's programs and will put the University in compliance with a new mandate going into effect in the fall of 2010, requiring a minimum of six sports per gender at all NCAA Division III institutions. William Paterson will lay the groundwork for the program by sponsoring a club team during the 2009-2010 academic year.

The men's golf program will be led by Brian Woods, who begins his 18th season as William Paterson's head men's soccer coach this fall. Woods is no stranger to helping to launch a new intercollegiate athletic program at WP, as he founded the Pioneer women's soccer program as a club sport in 1993 and guided it through its first three varsity seasons (1994-96).

“We are looking forward to expanding our intercollegiate program offerings with the addition of men's golf,” said Director of Athletics Sabrina Grant. “Golf is a lifelong sport, one that has shown tremendous growth in popularity over the last decade. I am confident, based on the degree of interest in the sport from our current student body as well as the recruiting expertise of Brian Woods, that we will be competitive from the outset.”

“I am excited to be involved with the creation of another new athletics program at William Paterson,” Woods said. “I am hopeful that the golf team will be able to experience the same level of early success that the women's soccer program enjoyed, reaching the NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen in just its fourth year of play. I am encouraged by the number of people who have already expressed an interest in competing for the golf program, and look forward to playing our first intercollegiate match in 2011.”